extend the learning: dinner time

Build your child's math skills with these extended learning activities from the Team Umizoomi Educational Consultant.

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Want to help boost your child's mighty math powers? Team Umizoomi's Educational Consultant, Christine Ricci, Ph.D., has ideas for simple math games you and your child can play every day that will strengthen skills with numbers, shapes, counting, comparing, and more, while also building math confidence.

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Place Setting Patterns

Set the table in a pattern, putting the silverware in a particular order. For example, the fork is next to the spoon which is next to the knife. See if your child can do the same order for everyone else's plates. Now change the order and see if she can fix the other place settings.

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Fruit Salad Math

Have your child count out ten blueberries for everyone's plate. Now give everyone two strawberries. Add some geometric cheese shapes. Cut slices of cheese into various shapes (square, rectangle, circle, even star shapes). Count them out together.

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What's for Dinner?

Pizza or pot roast? Can't agree? Take a survey! Interview each family member and have them choose between two or more options. Count up the results. You can even draw a graph to see which dinner option got more votes.